Brendan Sorsby threw two touchdowns Saturday and Cincinnati’s defense continued to tour Central Florida out of the end zone until the final two minutes in a 20-11 Big 12 Conference victory in Ohio.
Sorsby completed 12 of 21 passes for 191 yards as the Bearcats (5-1, 3-0 BIg 12) won their fifth straight game since a season-opening loss to Nebraska in Kansas City. By validating their upset win last week against Iowa State with another strong performance, Cincinnati could slip into the new Top 25 when it opens on Sunday.
Knight’s Cam Fancher completed 28 of 49 passes for 222 yards while rushing for a game-high 108 yards on 20 attempts for the Knights (3-3, 0-3), who were held to a season-low scoring total. UCF had a 413-306 advantage in total yardage and had the ball for 39:44 but was hurt with 10 penalties and a lost fumble.
UCF couldn’t generate much running play, other than Fancher’s scrambles. Former Bearcats running back Myles Montgomery, who has racked up back-to-back 100-yard games over the past two weeks, was held to 56 yards on 13 attempts. That included a 22-yard scamper on the final play of the game.
Cincinnati started scoring at 8:23 of the first quarter when Sorsby found Jeff Caldwell for a 40-yard touchdown. That happened four plays after Fancher was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-2 at the Bearcats’ 41 by Trevon Gola-Callard.
Sorsby and Caldwell hooked up again with 12:12 left in the first half for a 9-yard scoring strike, capping an 83-yard drive that was Cincinnati’s best of the day.
Stephen Rusnak added a 32-yard field goal with 4:13 left in the half for a 17-0 Cincinnati lead. UCF responded with a 12-play drive, culminating in a 40-yard field goal by Noe Ruelas with 24 seconds on the clock to make it 17-3 at the break.
Rusnak made a 24-yard field goal with 13:39 left in the game, his 20th consecutive field goal. Fancher’s 3-yard run with 2:07 remaining capped the scoring and the Knights’ third straight loss.
–Field level media
